Bathtub container-protector

ABSTRACT

A container for a bathtub-shower unit which serves as a shipping carton and also to protect the unit from damage during installation. The container may be formed of heavy, stiff fiberboard or the like, of the character commonly employed for packing and shipping merchandise of a fragile character, and is in the form of a hollow parallelepiped or generally cubical form, with top and bottom caps and sidewalls forming a sleeve. The front wall may be separated from the side and backwall by unstapling or by cutting, and then may be bent along scored lines, whereupon it may be bent or folded backwardly into the unit, where it serves to protect the latter in the course of installation of the plumbing fixtures.

United States Patent Inventors Appl. No. Filed Patented Assignee BATHTUB CONTAINER-PROTECTOR 3 Claims, 6 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 229/16, 206/46 Int. Cl 865d 5/12 Field of Search 229/16; 206/46 H References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,029,994 4/1962 Chapman 206/46 FN 3,035,688 5/1962 Field etal.

ABSTRACT: A container for a bathtub-shower unit which serves as a shipping carton and also to protect the unit from damage during installation. The container may be formed of heavy, stiff fiberboard or the like, of the character commonly employed for packing and shipping merchandise of a fragile character, and is in the form of a hollow parallelepiped or generally cubical form, with top and bottom caps and sidewalls forming a sleeve. The front wall may be separated from the side and backwall by unstapling or by cutting, and then may be bent along scored lines, whereupon it may be bent or folded backwardly into the unit, where it serves to protect the latter in the course of installation of the plumbing fixtures.

PATENTED V 2 I97! SHEET 2 [IF 2 41 FIG, 5

BATIITUB CONTAINER-PROTECTOR Our invention relates generally to shipping cartons especially designed for packing and shipping bathtubs and bathtub-shower combination units. More particularly, our invention contemplates a shipping carton which, after delivery to the consumer, is opened, or partially opened, to provide means for protection of the unit in the course of installation of plumbing fixtures.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION Our invention is especially concerned with shipping cartons designed especially for bathtubs and bathtub-shower units formed of fiber glass or similar material which by nature is inherently somewhat fragile or susceptible to abrasion.

Ordinarily, in the course of installation of units of this type, the workman must stand inside the tub for installation and adjustment of the shower fixture, etc. The shoes of the worker are likely to scuff and abrade the inside of the tub on which he is required to stand, and damage may otherwise ensue from the operation.

While it would be possible for the installer to place protective material on the inside of the tub to prevent such damage, frequently such material is not immediately available or the worker is too involved in his work to make the effort.

Accordingly, we have devised a shipping carton especially designed to serve, after delivery to the consumer, as a protector for such a unit while being installed.

More particularly, it is an object of our invention to provide a shipping carton formed of the usual relatively inexpensive material, such as fiberboard or generally similar paper product or other relatively inexpensive material, which is especially designed to serve our purpose.

Our improved carton is provided in the form of a hollow rectangular or cubical box, comprising front, back and sidewalls forming a sleeve, and top and bottom caps secured to said sleeve. The front wall is designed to be separated or partially separated, from the sleeve when the worker is ready to install the unit, and said front wall then may be bent along scored lines and folded inwardly into the tub-shower cubical to provide a protective cover for the latter. The worker may then step into the cubical, the former front wall of the shipping carton then serving to protect the unit from damage while he is in the course of making the necessary plumbing installation.

A further object of our invention is to provide a combined shipping carton and protective cover for a tubshower unit which will perform a dual function, as above described, at substantially no additional cost as compared with the usual shipping container.

Various other objects and advantages will doubtless suggest themselves to those skilled in the art as the description proceeds.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Turning now to the drawings forming a part of this specification and illustrating a preferred embodiment of our invention,

FIG. 1 is a front side perspective view of a container-protector embodying our invention;

FIG. 2 is a partially exploded perspective view of the same in the course of installing the bathtub-shower unit;

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially along the line 4-4 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a blank which forms the front wall of said carton, and

FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially along the line 6-6 of FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The preferred example of a carton embodying our invention, as shown in the drawings, comprises a sleeve portion indicated generally by numeral 10, which as seen in the horizontal section of FIG. 4, is of rectangular formation and of such size and proportions as to accommodate a bathtub-shower unit U shown in phantom lines in FIG. 3. The ends of sleeve 10 are closed by end caps 12, 12.

Substantially the entire container, aside from securing elements such as steel strapping 13 used to secure the end caps to the sleeve, staples l5 and the like, is formed of the sort of material customarily employed in shipping containers for large and somewhat fragile articles of merchandise, such as a rugged, lightweight paperboard or the like which is inexpensive and having a high degree of stiffness, thus being highly resistant to penetration or other damage incidental to shipment.

Cap portions 12, 12' may be of any desired configuration suitable to overlie and close the top and bottom ends of sleeve 10, having narrow lateral wing portions 18, said wing portions being of generally Uformation, being folded downwardly and reversely upwardly to make tight engagement with sleeve 10, the corners of said wing portions being; notched as at 20 to seat metal strapping 13 and thus prevent displacement of the cap.

As seen best in FIGS. 2 and 4, sleeve 10 comprises a back leaf 22, side leaves 24, 24 and relatively narrow front flaps 27, 27 All of the aforesaid leaves and flaps have U-shaped top and bottom marginal flanges 30. That is to say, the marginal portions are bent reversely from the major plane of the sheet in generally U-formation to provide a snug fit with the adjacent cap 12 or l2 as the case may be.

Sleeve 10 also comprises a front panel indicated generally by numeral 33, formed of the same type of material as the rest of sleeve 10 and caps 12, 12' and including a pair of side wings 35,35 (FIGS. 1 and 4). Said wings 35, 35' may be secured to side panels 24, 24' in any suitable manner, as by adhesive or by stapling 15 (FIG. 1).

Referring to FIG. 5, it will be noted that front panel 33 is specially designed for use, after severance from side panels 24,24, as a tub and shower protector in the course of installation of the unit. Thus, various lines of scoring are provided to facilitate bending of the sheet or panel along these lines, viz:

Vertical score lines are provided as at 40,40, to define the front corners of the sleeve, slots 41 being provided at the top and bottom extremities of these scored lines. A printed line 42 is applied to flaps 35, 35' a relatively short distance outwardly of scored lines 40, 40', with printed instructions to cut along said lines 42, 42' or alternatively to remove the staples securing said flaps to the side panels.

Vertical score lines 45, 45' are applied to the front face of the panel throughout the length of said panel inwardly of lines 40,40 for reasons which will soon appear.

Horizontal scored lines are also applied to panel 33 as follows: A pair of scored lines 48, 48' on the rear face a short distance inwardly of the top and bottom edges of this panel define flaps 30, 30 described hereabove, to facilitate bending of said flaps outwardly. Farther inwardly of scored lines 48', a pair of spaced parallel scored lines 50, 52 are applied to the back face of said panel 33, while slots 53 are provided between the ends of said scored lines and the side edges of said panel.

Spaced upwardly from scored line 52 another horizontal scored line 55 is provided on the front face of the panel and spaced upwardly therefrom still another parallel scored line 57 is provided on the front of the panel, slots 53 also being provided between the ends of said lines 55 and 57 and the side edges of the panel.

After front panel 33 has been severed from the side leaves of the carton, as seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, said front panel is bent along the aforesaid scored lines, as clearly indicated in the phantom lines of FIG. 3. It will be noted that the distance between lines 48 and the scored line 50 defines a leaf A of sufficient height to cover the front face of the tub portion of unit U. The distance between scored lines 50 and 52 defines a panel B of sufficient width to cover the top ledge of the tub; panel C defined between scored lines 52 and 55 will cover the inner face of the front wall of the tub; panel D defined by scored lines 55 and 57 will cover the bottom of the tub, while panel E defined between scored lines 57 and 48 will protect the exposed back face of the tub.

Furthermore, it will be noted that protective side flaps are also provided in front panel 33 by scored lines 45, 45 applied to the front face of panel for this purpose. Thus side flaps B, B, etc., may all be bent outwardly, i.e., toward the front of panel 33, providing side wings. After the plumbing fixtures have been installed, the carton will, of course, be removed and destroyed.

it will be seen that we have provided a highly useful and improved shipping carton for goods of this character at substantially no increased cost as compared with the ordinary shipping carton, heretofore used for similar goods, our improved carton serving the additional and highly useful function of protecting the shipped unit in the course of the plumbing installation.

Various changes coming within the spirit of my invention may suggest themselves to those skilled in the art; hence, I do not wish to be limited to the specific embodiment shown and described or uses mentioned, but intend the same to be merely exemplary, the scope of our invention being limited only the the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In a shipping container for a plumbing fixture or the like in the form of a substantially rectangular box having a sleeve portion comprising sidewalls, a backwall, a front wall and closure members secured to the ends of said sleeve portion, said container being formed of lightweight, stiff, expendable sheet material, the improvement in said front wall wherein said wall is at least partially severable from said sidewalls to form a plumbing fixture protector during installation of said fixture at its ultimate destination.

2. The improvement of claim 1 wherein front wall is severable from said sidewalls along longitudinal lines, said front wall containing a plurality of substantially parallel transverse weakened lines whereby said front wall may be folded into the interior of said plumbing fixture along said weakened lines to provide a plurality of protective panels overlying various planes of the plumbing fixture shipped in said container during the installation thereof at its ultimate destination.

3. A protective cover for a bathtub-shower unit, comprising an elongated sheet of lightweight, stiff, expendable material, said sheet having a. a pair of weakened longitudinal lines spaced inwardly from and parallel to the side edges of said sheet, and

b. a plurality of spaced, generally parallel transverse weakened lines facilitating bending along said lines to provide leaves overlying various planes of an article to be installed, said transverse weakened lines extending substantially to the side edges of said sheet,

c. the portions disposed outwardly of said longitudinal lines being adapted to provide wings bent inwardly from the respective planes of the adjacent leaves. 

1. In a shipping container for a plumbing fixture or the like in the form of a substantially rectangular box having a sleeve portion comprising sidewalls, a backwall, a front wall and closure members secured to the ends of said sleeve portion, said container being formed of lightweight, stiff, expendable sheet material, the improvement in said front wall wherein said wall is at least partially severable from said sidewalls to form a plumbing fixture protector during installation of said fixture at its ultimate destination.
 2. The improvement of claim 1 wherein front wall is severable from said sidewalls along longitudinal lines, said front wall containing a plurality of substantially parallel transverse weakened lines whereby said front wall may be folded into the interior of said plumbing fixture along said weakened lines to provide a plurality of protective panels overlying various planes of the plumbing fixture shipped in said container during the installation thereof at its ultimate destination.
 3. A protective cover for a bathtub-shower unit, comprising an elongated sheet of lightweight, stiff, expendable material, said sheet having a. a pair of weakened longitudinal lines spaced inwardly from and parallel to the side edges of said sheet, and b. a plurality of spaced, generally parallel transverse weakened lines facilitating bending along said lines to provide leaves overlying vaRious planes of an article to be installed, said transverse weakened lines extending substantially to the side edges of said sheet, c. the portions disposed outwardly of said longitudinal lines being adapted to provide wings bent inwardly from the respective planes of the adjacent leaves. 